The present disclosure relates generally to a charging station that can selectively provide DC power to charge a battery based vehicle on a determined mode of operation. Because battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) (collectively called Plug-In Vehicles (PEVs)) have only recently been introduced in mainstream market channels, electric vehicle charging infrastructure is limited in the United States and elsewhere. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), including PHEVs, include hybrid technology allowing the vehicle to operate using fossil-fuel for propulsion and battery charging, and some electric vehicle designs provide an on-board internal combustion engine dedicated to driving a generator to charge the vehicle battery. If on-board propulsion or charging facilities are depleted or unavailable and the vehicle battery presently has a low state of charge (SOC) for the electric propulsion system, the vehicle must be brought to a charging station before the battery is completely depleted.
A typical charging system includes a station operatively coupled to an AC power source. The PEV generally includes an AC charger that can receive AC power from an AC power source. However, the PEV operates on direct current (DC) power from an on-board vehicle battery, and AC chargers must convert AC power to DC power via internal rectifier circuitry to charge the vehicle battery, and this conversion creates an undesirable loss of energy. Thus, there is a need for improved PEV charging systems and techniques by which charging inefficiencies can be reduced while providing flexibility in charging options.